Oil burner



u. M. SHARP OIL BURNER 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 2l, 1923 @he @W km WIT/V555 75 l. M. SHARP April 19, 1927.l

OILBURNER 2 Sheets-.Sheet 2 Filed J-une 2l. 1925 Patented Apr. 19, l927./

llillllED inra-aaa ISAAC IM. SHARP, OF SAN 'FRANCSCU, CALIFORNIA.

CIL BURNERv Application :led Jane 21, 1923. I Serial 646,738.

This invention relates to an oilburner, suc-l1 as used for example for generating steam; and more particularly to a burner in which a blast of air, steam or the like is nsed to project the atomized yor finely divided oil into a combustion chamber.

In such burners, it is not only usual, but necessary to provide some sort of a. movable support for the burner structure, so as to permit its ready withdrawal from the combustion chamber and replacement therein. In some arrangement the burner is arranged to be telescoped in a stationary support, so that it may be slid therein.

lt is one of the objects of my invention to improve in general thistype of telescoping burner9 so 'that it may be inexpensively constructed. and also that the teli-scopingr action when the burner is moved in its guide, may automaticallycause valves to be actuated. In this way the blast ot air or steam, as well as the iloW of oil to the burner 'will be stopped when the burner is in its retracted, inoperative position.

ln some burners the blast of air or steam which is used for projecting the atomized .fuel is also made to rotate -a cup to which the 'fuel is conducted,.and which by ,its rotation causes the oil to be thrown oil by centrifugal torce as a spray, The air or steam after it reaches the combustion chamber serves in addition to supply at least a part of the oxygen to support combustion. The rate of combustion in such an arrangement may be easily regulated vlby a combined control of this blast and ofthe oil ilow to the cup., and it is possibleto effect lthis regulation if desired automatically in response to a. characteristic of the generated steam, such as pressure or temperature or a combination thereof. In some instances, however, the attendant corresponding"variation inthe Allrate of rotation ot the cup is objectionable. llt is thus another object of my invention to make it possible to maintain the cup rotation uniform while the rate of air or steam supply for projecting the atomized fuel into the combustion chamber is varied.

I accomplish this result by providing two separate channels for the blast-one past the propeller blades .of the turbine that rotates the cup, which channel leads past the edge ot the cup to assist in projecting the fuel, and another channel that leads directly past the edges of the cup without leading the blast to the turbine. Such anarrangement to the bearings under all conditions of operation.

My ,invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which with the foregoing will be set forth at length in the ollowin description, where I shall out-line 'in full tiose forms of the invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. Although l haveshown in the drawings only one form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited thereto, since the invention as expressed in the claims may be embodied in other forms also.

Referring to 'the drawings:

Figure l is a sectional view elia complete burner, in which some ot the burner barrel is broken away in order to maintain a large scale for the drawing;

Fig. 2 is a ,sectional view along plane 242 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along plane 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. f4 is a side view of the rotating cup structure shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is an elevation from one side of. the burner, some of the parts being broken away to permit the use of a large scale;

lFig. 6 is a fragmentary view,y taken from the opposite side or Fig. 5', and illustrating the mode of fastening the burner barrel in any position; .t Fig. 7 isa sectional view7 along "plane 8 8 of Fig. 1,-illustrating the .spring loclr for the burner barrel.- i y .In the form shown in Figs. -1 and 5, a cup l1 is adapted to be rotated by the .aid of an air or steam turbine, which comprises a series of helical blades 12. fastened to a rotatably mounted sleeve 13. The details of this turbine' form no art of my present invention, and l shall escribe only those features which arev essential to an anderstanding et the invention. The cup 11 1s appropriately yfastened, as by threads le tothe sleeve i3. Ball bearings 'l5 are interposed between the rotating sleeve 13 and a stationary supporting rod 16. Appropriate means for preventing relative axial movement of the sleeve 13 and rod 16 may be used. The blades 12 may form -an interrupted double screw thread, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4, and by properlyproportioning the extent of the interruptions, the effectiveness of the blast-of' air or steam to rotate the cup 11 may be correctly determined. Furthermore these interruptions are so arranged that the blast that 1s passed therethrough without materially contributing to the cup rotation, and that reunites with the blast causing the cup 11 to rotate, is oppositely directed to this blast, so that there is a tendency to. produce va circular swirling blast beyond the edge of cup 11. This causes a more complete atomization of the fuel.

The cup 11 is arranlged to be .supplled with liquid fuel throug -a drip nipple 17, so that as the cup rotates, it will atomlze the fuel by the aid of centrifugal force, and throw 1t oif `at the edge of the cup. In order to provide a convenient passageway for the oil, the rod 16 has a central aperture 18 which communicates with the nipple 17 fastened thereto. Surrounding the cup 11 and the blades 12 is an inner conical nozzle 19 that serveslto provide a passageway for the blast of air or steam past these blades and finally out past the edge of the cup. This inner nozzle is surrounded by a larger, outer nozzle 20 which provides an annular passageway 21 past the edge of the cup; the blast conducted therethrough however has no effect upon the cup rotation, and is used merely for supplementing the inner blast to support combustion and to project the atomized fuel into the combus- .tion chamber.

The inner and outer nozzles 19 and 20 are rigidly supported on a barrel 22. The outer nozzle forms practically an extension of this barrel, which it engages by the aid of the threads 23. The inner nozzle`19 may be quite similarly threaded to an inner barrel `24 which is spaced from and supported on the inside of theouter barrel 22 by the aid of projections 25, as well as by the flange 26. The inner barrel 24 also serves to support a ring 27, which carries a central threaded boss or hub 28. This boss 28 serves to support the `rod 16 by thelaid of ts threaded extension 29 which engages the oss.

The outer barrel 22 is shown as telescopically supported on a standard 30, having a hollow tube-like support 31 for this purpose. The relative axial movement between the barrel 22 and the support 31 is limited by the shoulders 33 and 34 formed respectively on the barrel cover 35 and on the outer nozzle20. In the positions shown, the burner is in its active position; to retract the burner so that its nozzle end will be pulled away from the combustion chamber o ening, the handle 36. which may be provi ed on the barrel cover 35 may be grasped and the entire burner barrel pulled to the left. I prefer to make the support 30 hollow as indicated so that it may also serve as a conduit for a stream of air or steam which is to be conducted through the nozzles 19 and 20. In this way it is also possible to use the external surface of barrel 22 to close up this conduit when the burner is in its inactive position.

To secure communication between the space 37 .within the standard 30 and the two passageways formedby the barrels 22 and 24, an aperture 38 is provided in the outside barrel which registers with the space 37 in the active position of the burner. This aperture thus serves to sup ly a blast to the annular space 21 between t e nozzles 1.9 and 20, but in order to control the amount of air or steam that will be permitted to enter this passageway, I rovide a shutter arrangement, the details of which are indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. A flange 39 (Fig. 1) interrupts the passageway formed between-the barrels 22 and 24, and this flange has a series of openings 40 (Fig. 3.) which are adapted to be closed by a rotating shutter 41 aving a sleeve portion 42 that is rotatably mounted on the outside of barrel 24. In the position shown in Fig. 3, the annularly arranged openings 40 are open to their fullest extent, and the maximum amount of air, or steam may be permitted to pass through the annular passageway 21 between the nozzles 19 and 20.

In order to permit external control of the shutteropening, an arm or lever/13 (Fi N2) 4 extends through the barrel 22 and' is sp ined to the sleeve 42, so that while the sleeve 42 may more axially, the rod or lever 43, which 'does not move axially of the barrels, will nevertheless be maintained in operative relation to the sleeve. In this way the arm 43 does not prevent the barrel from being telescoped in and out of the support 3l. The rod 43 may be rotated in a countcrcloclr` wise direction to close the openings 40, as indicated by the arrows 44. A wide slot 45 in the tubular support 31 and` a corresponding slot 46 in the outer ,barrel 22 permit this movement of the arm 43. In order to keep these slots covered and thus maintain the passageways air tight, a thin se ment 47 fastened to the rod 43 on the insic e of bar rel 22 may be used, which segment covers an angle large enough to keep these slots always closed. The splined connection between the arm 43 and the sleeve 42 is accomplished by aid of the slot 48 formed on .the outside of sleeve 42. Furthermore the angular position of the arm 43 with respect to the standard 30 is such that there is no interference between them, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 2. Relative axial movement between the sleeve 1-2 and the barrel 21 on which -it is supported may be prevented, for example by the aid of a shoulder 49 on the flange 26.

The supply of air or steam t'o the inner passageway 50, `which air or steam is to be used for rotating the cup 1l., is accomplished by the aid of an aperture 51 in the inner barrel 24. Of course in the retracted position, since passageway 37 is closed ofi, there will then be an interruption in this supply also. However, the blast of air or steam in this instance is not subject to any other kind of control, such as a shutter arrangement or the like, but is permitted to pass the turbine blades 12 and the edge of cup 11. This passageway is also annular, in order to provide for a central bore or opening 52 in a tube 53 for the supply of oil to cup 11. This tube 53 is threaded at one endinto the boss 28 so as to be placed in communication with the aperture 18-in rod 16 that supports the rotating cup. At the other end, it is'threaded into the barrel cover member 35 Where it communicates With a radial passageway 54 formed in the cover 35. The supply of oil comes through this passageway 54, whence it may be permitted to flow though tube 53 and aperture 18 to the nipple 17.

It .is sometimes advisable to provide a manual control for the flow of oil to this nipple, and for this purpose I provide a long valve stem 55 extending through the pipe 53. This stem-is adapted to be moved axially so as to move its conical valve surface 56 to- Ward and from a seat 57 formed in the end of aperture 18. In this Way the opening of this aperture may be controlled. The axial movement of stem 55 mayfhe accomplished by the aid of a small handwheel 58 attached thereto, whereby the threaded portion 59 of the stem may be rotated yin and out of a threaded aperture 60. This aperture is formed in an extension 61 fastened to the cover35. A packing nut 62 and gland 63 may be provided for the stem Where it projects from this member 61, in a Well under.- stood manner. lt is evident from the fore going that the valve stem and its associated parts form the equivalent of a usual type of needle valve for regulating the How of a fluid.

I preferably provide a readily operated manual clamping arrangment for the burner, so that it may be fastened in any of its possible relative positions With respect to its support. 31. For this purpose I provide a thin slit 64 (Figs. 2 and 6) through this tubular support, so that this support may be contracted around the outer barrel 22. To accomplish this, a pair of lugsV 65', one on each side of the slit is provided; through the lower there is a threaded aperture, engaged by a clamping bolt 66 passing through the upper lug 65. A handle lever 67 passes through the head of the bolt for facilitating manual operation thereof. The arrangement is such that a part of a turn is all that is necessary either to release or bind the barrcl 22. V In addition to this clamping arrangement, l provide a spring snap that locks the barrel 22 in place automatically upon it being,` brought to active position. This snap lock, as shown most clearly in Fig. 7, comprises a bolt 68 adapted to engage anaperture 69 in the barrel 22 and pressed to closed position by a helical spring 70 in a spring barrel 71. This spring barrel is rigidly attached as by threads to the outside of the support 31, and also serves as a guide for the bolt 68. An extension rod 72 extends `outside of` the spring barrel 71 so as to permit manual retraction of the spring pressed bolt when it is desiredto move the burner to an inoperative. position.

From the foregoing, it is evident that the burner structure is readily manipulated, and that the regulation of the blast for projecting the fuel into the chamber and for supporting combustion is accomplished Without in any Way'interfering with the blast that is used for the atomization of the oil. Furthermore the blast is entirely interrupted when the burner is in the inactive po-` s1't1on, and there is .thus no useless Waste of the air or steam. The cup 1 1 is rotated in a highly ecient manner by the blast con- 100 ducted through the inner passageway 50. In order to insure free running of this cup. however, I prefer to provide an oiling device for the bearings 15. Thismay consist of oil cup 73 fastened in any appropriate 105 mannery to the exterior of barrel 22, and having an oil passageway 74for leading the oil to a groove .75 formed in the shoulder 76 on the support 28. Another groove 113 formed in the shoulder 114 of support 16.110 communicates with this groove 75, whence passageway/'S' 77 klead to the bearings 15. The provision of the grooves and 113 of continuous annular form renders it certain that, no matter what the angle tightened 115 position of support 16 may be with respect to the supporting boss 28, there will be no interrupt-ion in the lubricant passageway between the cup 7 3 and the bearings 15. In order to permit the barrel 22 to move to its 130 fully retracted position Without interference from this cup 73, a slot 115 is cut in support 31 that is deep enough to accommodate the cup in this position.

The manner 1n which the liquid fuel may V35 be supplied to the burner by aid of the radial passageway y54 in the cover member 35, will noxv be described. This structure is preferably such that the telescoping move ment of the burner will also serve to control 130 the oil passageway, so that in inactive position, the supply will be interrupted. The oil is supplied through a stationary pipe 77 5) whence it passes through a control valve 7 8,.,pipe 79, and fittings 80 and 81, to an elbow 82 located at the top` of the burner. From this elbow the oil passes into a stationaryiitting 83, which may 'conveniently be 'supported on top' of the member 31. This fitting is provided with an extension 84 having an' axis substantially parallel with the burner telescopic movement. In this extension there is telescoped a hollow tube 85.

fastened to the cover member 35 and connecting with the radial passageway 54 therein. This tube may be guided for telescopic movement in an arm 86 of the fitting 83 which is opposite the extension 84. A packing gland 87 with a 'tightening nut 88 may be provided for insuring a tight joint between the tube 85 and this arm 86. As thus far described, the path for the oil includes the chamber 89 of the fitting 83, extension 84, and then back againfrom the end of this extension through the tube 85. The extension 84 and tube 85 are long enough to provide for the maximum permissible telescoping movement.

In order to control the flow of oil automatically in response to the telescopic movement of the burner, I provide an automatic valve arrangement in the tube 85, and for this purpose, the end of extension 84 is closed as by a cap 90. This cap carries an adjustable abutment 91 in the form of a screw. which is protected by a screw cover 92. This screw is arranged to operatea sliding sleeve valve 93 in the end of' tube 85, which valve controls the openings 94 between the extension 84C and tube 85. This valve has a stem 95 projecting through the closed end of tube 85, which stem has a head 08. A spring 97 tends to move the sleeve 93 to closed position, but when the tube 85 is in its acti-ve position such as shown, the abutment 91 causes the spring to be compressed, and the valve -to remain open. However, as soon as the burner is moved toward the left to bring it to an inoperative position, the spring 97 is permitted to act to 'close the valve.

The operation of the burner as thus completely described is evident from the 'foregoing ex lanation. lThe retraction ot the burner will automatically cause the oil and air blast passaoreways to be interrupted.

It may at times be advisable to regulate the amount of fuel supplied as well as the volume of air or steam assing through the passageway 21, automatically in response to the temperature or pressure of the steam generated by the heat of the burner. For this purpose I show an arm 98 (Fig. 5) which is connected to the stem 99 of the valve 78, by the aid of the projection 100.

This arm may be connected as by a chain to a regulator. I also show a mechanical connection 101 between it and the shutter control arm 43, so that both the shutter 41 and the oil valve 78 may be simultaneously controlled. The valve 78 may take any of well-known forms, and may in addition be provided with adjustable stops 102 to limit the extent ot the regulation by engaging the projection 103 fixed to the arm 100.

The provision of an annular passageway 21 in addition to the usual passage 50 for the blast has important advantages. as pointed out hereinbefore. It is possible to controlthevolume of air or steam to a nicety without interfering with 1the cup rotation. The burner also is capable ot' etticient operation.

In some of the claims I have used the term blast and by this term I desire to be understood as meaning either a blast of air or steam which is supplied through the passageway 37 as above described.

I claim:

1. In a telescopically supported liquid lucl burner arranged so that it may be placed into active or inactive position by a telescoping movement, means for conducting a blast to the'burner, means for conducting uel to the burner, and means brought into operation by the telescopic movement of the burner from active to inactive position for interrupting both the flow of fuel and the blast comprising a valve actuated by the movement of the burner for interrupting the flow of fuel and an aperture through which the blast is admitted, adapted to be closed by the burner.

2. In a liquid fuel burner, an outer barrel, an inner barrel, and a tube support Jfor the outer barrel whereby the burner may be telescopically moved therein to place it either in an active or an inactive position, said barrels forming an inner and an outer passageway for a blast, and said support bcmg provided with a passageway to conduct the blast to the barrels, and said barrels having apertures for placing their passageways into communication withthe passageway in the support.

In a liquid fuel burner, an inner barrel.

an outer barrel, a hollow support for telescopically holding the outer barrel and for conducting a blast through the passageway formed between the inner and outer barrel, said outer barrel being adapted to interrupt the passageway when the burner is moved to an inactive position, and means for varying the" opening of the passageway, between .the barrels, comprising a sleeve having a shutter flange surrounding the inner barrel, a partition in the passageway with which the flange cooperates, and a rod slidally connected to the sleeve for rotating it whereby the operative connection between the sleeve an outer barrel, a hollow support for tele 'scopically holding theouter arrel and for conducting ablast to the'passageway in the inner barrel and that formed between the barrels, and means for varying the opening of the passageway between the barrels, comprising a shutter member, a rod for rotating this member and a sliding connection between the rod and the member, whereby the operative connection may be maintained for all positions of the barrels.

5. In a liquid fuel burner having a rotatable cup for dividing the fuel into fine particles, and means for conducting a blast past the cup to project the fuel from the cup, means for rotating the cup comprising 20 blades in the path of the blast, said blades forming an'interrupted helical screw thread, whereby some of the blast may pass the blades without having substantial rotational effect thereon.

6. In a liquid fuel burner, having a rotatable cup for dividing the fuel -into fine particles, and means for conducting a blast past the cup to project the fuel from the cup, means for rotating the cup comprising blades in the path ofthe blast, said blades forming a multiple helical screw thread, with interruptions in each thread, said interruptions being angularly displaced on the several threads, whereby some of the blast may pass the blades without having substantial rotational effect thereon.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

ISAAC M., SHARP, 

